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History

At EBC we aim to give the students a history curriculum that:

Is rooted in academic research and recent historians’ thinking.
Gives them opportunities to learn a range of histories, representative of cultures, ethnicities and genders.

Debunks common misconceptions about the past to give them a richer and ‘truer’ understanding of history.
Challenges them to think deeply and critically about the past and their identity is rooted in it.
Provides them with the tools to become sophisticated speakers and writers
Is rich in knowledge to provide them with a solid foundation of the history of the world
Exposes them to historical ways of writing, speaking and exploring the past.

Through this education we hope that the students will:

Become thoughtful learners, who are curious and want to learn more about the world that they live in.
Want to be active participants in society through the knowledge of how people can make a difference.
Be able to ask great questions and challenge the history that they are taught.

KS3 History

The aims of the KS3 curriculum are:

To understand that historians create contrasting interpretations of the past based on sources of evidence, and that these interpretations have changed over time
Be able to infer from evidence about events and people
Be confident support their view on the significance of events, their causes and consequences, similarities and differences using historical knowledge

Topics studied:

Year 7

Autumn

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Iron Age Britain	Why is it difficult to know what life was like in Iron Age Britain?	Evidence
Ancient Civilisation	How similar were Ancient Civilisations around the world from 800BC to 43AD?	Similarities and differences
Roman Britain	How can historians use sources to learn about changes to life in Roman Britain from 43AD to 410AD?	Evidence and Change and Continuity

Spring

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Early Islamic World	Why were the ‘silk roads’ significant in developing the Islamic Golden Age?	Significant
Impact of the Norman Conquest	To what extent did life change under the Normans?	Change and Continuity
Medieval monarchs	Why did the barons feel the need to challenge King John in 1215?	Causation/Change and Continuity

Summer

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Medieval life	What was life really like for a Medieval English peasant?	Evidence
Medieval west Africa	What can the Catalan atlas tell us about Medieval Mali?	Evidence
Late Medieval period	How does the Paston family’s experience challenge historians’ interpretations of the Wars of the Roses?	Interpretations/Evidence

Assessment

Each unit will include a focus task which will receive feedback from their teacher, based on the specific second order concept they have been studying in the enquiry.

Students will also receive 3 summative assessments, which will include a combination of topics and skills.

Year 8

Autumn  

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Religion in Europe in the 16th Century	How did an average monk cause the Reformation?	Causation
Tudor England	How far did the Reformation transform Tudor England?	Change and Continuity
Early Modern Africa, Europe and the Americas	Why were Europe, Africa and the Americas becoming more connected between 1450-1700?	Causation

Spring

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
The English Civil War and Restoration	Why did the English want their king back in 1660?	Causation
African History	How far did Atlantic trade affect West African Kingdoms between 1450-1700?	Similarities and differences
Resistance to slavery	What was the most significant form of resistance to slavery?	Significance

Summer

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Age of Revolution	What did ‘revolution’ mean in the Age of Revolution?	Similarities and differences/Using evidence
Industrial Revolution in Britain	How far did the slave trade accelerate the Industrial Revolution in Britain between 1750-1900?	Causation
British Empire	To what extent were the experiences of Australia and India similar under British rule?	Similarities and Differences
	In what way should the British Empire be remembered	Interpretations
	How can sources challenge Hegel’s interpretation of the ‘Dark Continent’?	Interpretations/evidence

Assessment

Each unit will include a focus task which will receive feedback from their teacher, based on the specific second order concept they have been studying in the enquiry.

Students will also receive 3 summative assessments, which will include a combination of topics and skills.

Year 9

Autumn

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
World War I	Were the actions of Gavrilo Princip the main reason for the outbreak of WWI?	Causation
Women’s suffrage	How far did the Suffragettes help women break from the past?	Causation/Change and Continuity
World War II	How did the experience of soldiers vary in the Second World War?	Similarities and Differences/Using evidence

Spring

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
The Holocaust	Why do we remember the Holocaust?	Significance
Decolonisation	How far was decolonisation a violent process?	Similarities and Differences
US/British Civil Rights Movement	Was 1955 the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement?	Change and Continuity/Significance
Cold War	When was tension at its peak during the Cold War?	Change and Continuity/Significance

Summer

Topic	Enquiry question	Second order concept
Troubles in Northern Ireland	What are the legacies of Northern Ireland’s troubles?	Causation
British social history since 1980	Did the push for great LGBTQ+ rights in Britain come from the people or the government?	Interpretations
Genocide in the 20th Century	What does the genocide in the Balkans reveal about the dangers of nationalism?	Significance
Migration to Tooting	How is Tooting’s story, our story?	Change and Continuity/Similarities and Differences

Key Stage 4 GCSE

The aims of the KS4 curriculum are:

To understand that history is a construct made up of different peoples’ interpretations of the past informed by their identity and experience
Be able to critically analyse evidence to understand past events, linking this to their own knowledge and evaluating the source’s provenance

Be confident in explaining their view on the significance of events, their causes and consequences, similarities and differences using detailed historical knowledge and explicit reasoning.

What you will study:

Y11 cohort 2021-23

Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

Please note that Y10 and future year groups will study the following module instead:

Migrants in Britain, c800-present and Notting Hill case study c1948-c1970

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study

Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1588 and Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91

Paper 3: Modern depth study

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

Assessment

Paper 1: Written examination: 1 hour and 15 minutes. 30% of the qualification.

Paper 2: Written examination: 1 hour and 45 minutes. 40% of the qualification.

Paper 3: Written examination: 1 hour and 20 minutes. 30% of the qualification.

Additional Resources

Additional Resources

Additional resources to support KS3 History

BBC Bitesize History

Resources on Canvas

Timelines TV

Spartacus Educational

Key Stage 5

The aims of the KS5 curriculum are:

To understand that history is a construct made up of different peoples’ interpretations of the past informed by their identity and experience, and the context and method of the historian’s research
Be able to critically analyse multiple sources of evidence together to understand past events, linking this to their own knowledge and evaluating the sources’ provenance
Be confident in explaining their view on the significance of events, their causes and consequences, similarities and differences using detailed historical knowledge and explicit criteria for judgement.

Year 12

Paper 1: In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917–96

Breadth Study

Focus on the dramatic political, economic and social transformation of the USA in the twentieth century

Paper 2:

South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’

Depth Study

Explore how South Africa changed from an apartheid state into a multi-racial democracy

Year 13

Paper 3:

Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors,

1485–1603

Breadth & Depth Study

Focus on the ways in which Tudor monarchs kept order over a divided country for over a century, with key rebellions and plots explored in detail.

Coursework:

Independent Research

Develop skills in the analysis and evaluation of interpretations of history focusing on a chosen question, problem or issue

Assessment

Paper 1 Breadth study: The examination lasts 2 hours 15 minutes and is marked out of 60.

Paper 2: Depth study: The examination lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is marked out of 40.

Paper 3: Themes in breadth with aspects in depth: The examination lasts 2 hours 15 minutes and is marked out of 60.

Coursework

Students carry out an independently-researched enquiry requiring them to analyse and evaluate historical interpretations and to organise and communicate the findings (AO3, AO1)
The assignment is set by the centre on a question, problem or issue that has generated disagreement among historians
The assignment is marked out of 40